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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27673313">too good (to be true)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/miramiro/pseuds/miramiro'>miramiro</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>NCT (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>A reverse!10TIHAY AU, Alternate Universe - College/University, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan &amp; Lee Jeno Are Best Friends, Loosely Inspired by 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), M/M, Mark Lee &amp; Na Jaemin Are Best Friends, Rating May Change</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 23:54:54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,079</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27673313</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/miramiro/pseuds/miramiro</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Donghyuck is in your Creative Writing class,” Jaemin discloses.</p><p>“He is?” Mark is surprised. </p><p>“He is. He hasn’t attended any classes yet, but he will. From tomorrow,” Jaemin states gleefully.</p><p>“Okay, and?” </p><p>“And then you strike up a friendship,  keep him busy or whatever so I can steal Jeno away from him for a while.” Jaemin looks pleased with his word-vomit of a plan. Too pleased.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee, Side Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin - Relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>102</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Obvious reasons for the title. If you have seen 10TIHAY, you know.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Nana,” Mark hisses, elbowing Jaemin in the ribs. Hard. “Nana!” </p><p>“Mhm?” Jaemin mumbles, slumping forward and resting his chin on his arms, eyes trained on Lee Jeno’s leather jacket-clad back. He has the stupidest, most besotted look on his face that makes Mark roll his eyes.</p><p>“Stop staring, you idiot!” Mark insists, glancing furtively at Lee Jeno’s company. Lee Donghyuck. Haechan. Notorious for his sharp tongue, unpredictable behaviour, and devil-may-care attitude. Revered for his soft, angelic features and fluffy hair contrasted with a perpetual bad-boy aesthetic. Feared for being fiercely protective of Lee Jeno.</p><p>Mark is by no means scared of Haechan—Donghyuck, he corrects in his mind; no need to give power to his made-up name—but he does make him nervous. Who is he kidding? Donghyuck makes everyone nervous. From students and professors to the baristas present in the cafe. Right now, especially, Mark is nervous. </p><p>Donghyuck, having noticed Jaemin over Jeno’s shoulder, is assessing them coolly, slurping his chocolate shake. He pulls his lips off of the straw and licks his lips. Says something to Jeno that makes him turn to glance at Jaemin and look away swiftly when Jaemin waves dumbly at him, mouth split open into a flirty grin.</p><p>“Shit, Nana, he saw you, can you stop already?!” Mark hears himself bleat, weakly, frantically. Donghyuck is—Donghyuck is bad news. Even if Mark doesn’t believe all the wild rumours about him spread around the campus—he’s in a biker gang, he threatened a professor with a Swiss knife, he maimed an upperclassman who tried to hit on Jeno—he still believes everyone should be at least a <em> little </em> afraid of Donghyuck. </p><p>He sneaks another glance at Donghyuck, who is now focused on taking the straw out of his biodegradable clear plastic cup and licking the foam clean. Mark immediately ducks his head, cheeks flaming. Yeah, everyone should be afraid of Donghyuck. He is lethal.</p><p>Mark blows into his empty cup and brings it up to his lips, pretending to drink his non-existent coffee, trying to appear nonchalant, while Jaemin makes a fool of himself. A soon-to-be-dead fool. He kicks at his idiotic friend’s leg under the table, but Jaemin refuses to budge, still staring at Jeno who seems to have hunched over as if trying to hide. Mark frowns at that. Why would someone like Jeno feel the need to hide?</p><p>Before he can attempt to figure out the answer or dismiss the question entirely, his vision is blocked by a white graphic t-shirt tucked into a ripped, <em> god-they-are-so-ripped </em> pair of jeans. He nearly gulps as he looks up to meet eyes with Donghyuck whose lips are quirked up into a beatific smile, a hand in the pocket of his leather jacket, the other holding on to his half-full cup of chocolate milkshake.</p><p>“Donghyuck—” he starts, but Donghyuck’s attention is being consumed by Jaemin.</p><p>“Na Jaemin,” he says, voice lilting beautifully, dangerously. “You have 10 seconds to tell me what the fuck you think you’re doing.”</p><p>“Listen, Donghyuck—” Mark tries to explain. To save his best friend’s ass.</p><p>“Na. Jaemin,” Donghyuck says pointedly. “And that’s Haechan to you,” he adds, quelling Mark with a single look. Jaemin, meanwhile, has finally become aware of the mess he has created for himself, and straightens up.</p><p>“Ah, haha!” he laughs. Like an idiot. Like the colossal idiot he is. “What do you mean?” he asks, smiling innocently.</p><p>“5 seconds, Jaemin,” Donghyuck drawls.</p><p>Jaemin’s face falls. “Listen, I wasn’t—I mean, I don’t—”</p><p>“Oh, whoops!” Donghyuck chirps. “Time’s up!” He pours the milkshake over Jaemin’s head, shaking the cup to make sure every last drop counts.</p><p>Jaemin’s mouth has fallen open, the thick liquid running down his face. It drips steadily and purposefully on Jaemin’s open Psychology notebook. The one with all his notes. The notes he needs to pass the damn class. Mark can only stare in shock.</p><p>“Maybe have excuses ready, next time,” Donghyuck states. Flatly. Only then does Mark realize a hush has fallen over the coffee shop. Every single person is staring at the aftermath of the scene that has just unfolded.</p><p>“Jeno,” Donghyuck turns and calls out. Jeno is at his side immediately, looking chagrined. </p><p>“Hyuckie, why’d you do that?” Jeno asks worriedly.</p><p>“Because he was being a creep,” Donghyuck tells Jaemin and Mark, more than he addresses Jeno. Mark can’t deny the truth of the statement.</p><p>Dropping the empty cup onto the table and slipping his arm through Jeno’s, Donghyuck smiles at him. “Let’s go.” He drags Jeno towards the door. Doesn’t notice when Jeno mouths <em> ‘sorry’ </em> at Jaemin and bites his lip. It’s enough to make Jaemin flash him a beaming, megawatt smile despite being a sticky, chocolatey mess. Mark throws a wad of tissues at him. They stick to his hair before sliding down a little.</p><p>“Go get cleaned up, you fool,” Mark spits. Jaemin prances to the washroom, the besotted look back on his face. Mark smacks his forehead in exasperation. </p><p>With Donghyuck out of the cafe and the commotion being over, a barista hurries over to help Mark clean up the table. Mark tries to salvage Jaemin’s notes as best as possible, secretly glad he did not have any of his belongings in the disaster area.</p><p>A chocolate-stained, dripping-with-water Jaemin returns with none of his happiness dampened. He sighs blissfully as he seats himself in front of Mark. Accepts the on-the-house, apology hot tea the barista hands him with a serene smile. Takes a sip, and relaxes in his seat, behaving as if he did not have a chocolate milkshake dumped on his head minutes ago.</p><p>“Happy now?” Mark huffs. </p><p>“Very,” Jaemin exhales. </p><p>Mark raises his eyebrows. “Seriously? What is wrong with you!”</p><p>“I’m in love, my friend,” Jaemin smiles.</p><p>“No, you’re not,” Mark dismisses him. Pauses. “Wait—with whom?”</p><p>“Jeno, of course. Who else?”</p><p>“Who else?” Mark imitates him mockingly. “Are you out of your mind? He’s dating Dong—Haecha—Donghyuck.”</p><p>“No, he’s not,” Jaemin states. He sounds indignant. But not as much as Mark feels. “Oh yeah?” he challenges. “How do you know they aren’t dating?”</p><p>“Because Jeno told me,” Jaemin smiles. </p><p>“What?” Mark is flabbergasted. “What the fuck! Since when did Lee Jeno start telling you about his personal life?”</p><p>“Since two weeks ago. When we discovered we share the same elective this semester. Anthropology,” Jaemin smirks, sipping his tea elegantly. </p><p>“Oh,” Mark mumbles. “You didn’t tell me?”</p><p>“I did. You just ignored me,” Jaemin shrugs. </p><p>Mark colours. “I was—”</p><p>“Busy, I know,” Jaemin cuts in. “Basketball practice, composition theory, blah blah.”</p><p>“Sorry,” Mark says.</p><p>“Hm, yeah,” Jaemin hums sadly. “My best friend just doesn’t care about me anymore.”</p><p>Mark rolls his eyes. “Shut up, you know that’s not it. Stop being a drama queen.”</p><p>“Never!” Jaemin laughs. Mark joins him. They end up laughing too much. So much so that the cafe once again comes to a standstill for a few seconds. Mark coughs to hide his embarrassment, certain everyone is wondering whether they have both lost their minds.</p><p>“Anyway,” Mark says. “So you like Jeno?”</p><p>Jaemin smiles a small smile at him, and Mark is struck by the sincerity in it. “I do,” Jaemin says. “So much. Mark, he’s adorable! We ended up sitting together on the first day and got talking. And now he always sits beside me and he’s really sweet. He lets me borrow a pen whenever I forget mine—”</p><p>“Which is often,” Mark snorts.</p><p>“Which is often,” Jaemin agrees. “He’s really not what people make him out to be, you know?” he adds, sounding more serious. “And he’s—”</p><p>“Okay,” Mark says, putting his hands up. “Okay, okay. I get it. You really like him.”</p><p>Jaemin beams at him.</p><p>“But what about Donghyuck?”</p><p>Jaemin’s face falls.</p><p>“I don’t think Donghyuck will let this happen so easily. Unless he sees Jeno is happy with you, I guess?” Mark wonders out loud.</p><p>“So I just have to show Donghyuck I really want to date Jeno, right?”</p><p>“Right,” Mark hesitates. “Does Jeno know you want to date him, though?”</p><p>“Oh,” Jaemin breathes, realization dawning on him. “Nooo! We haven’t interacted beyond the lectures!” he whines, head in his hands.</p><p>“So the first step would be to interact with Jeno more,” Mark muses.</p><p>“But how!” they both chime together and then blink at each other. Jaemin’s face takes on a curious, mischievous expression. Mark knows it for a sign of doom.</p><p>“No,” he states firmly. “Whatever you’re thinking, no.”</p><p>“Mark, please! You haven’t even heard my idea!” Jaemin pleads.</p><p>“No! I refuse,” Mark reiterates. “You’ll just get me in trouble.”</p><p>Jaemin pulls his silliest, most-exaggerated pout on Mark. “Please, please, please!” he whines.</p><p>Exhaling deeply, Mark straightens up in his seat. Crosses his arms across his chest. “What.”</p><p>“Donghyuck is in your Creative Writing class,” Jaemin discloses.</p><p>“He is?” Mark is surprised. He hadn’t seen Donghyuck in class even once.</p><p>“He is. He hasn’t attended any classes yet, for reasons Jeno didn’t tell me, but he will. From tomorrow,” Jaemin states gleefully.</p><p>“Okay, and?” </p><p>“And then you strike up a friendship, and I don’t know, help him catch up on the stuff he’s missed and keep him busy or whatever so I can steal Jeno away from him for a while and work on charming him.” Jaemin looks pleased with his word-vomit of a plan. Too pleased.</p><p>“No,” Mark shakes his head. “Nope, nuh-uh, can’t do.”</p><p>“But why!”</p><p>“Donghyuck will—” <em> Eat me alive </em>, Mark thinks. Ugh. “Why does Jeno need Donghyuck’s permission to date, anyway?”</p><p>“He doesn’t,” Jaemin huffs. “But he values Donghyuck. To me, it seems like he idolizes him. They’ve been friends since childhood and Donghyuck is quite protective of him.”</p><p>“He sure told you a lot, huh?” Mark grins, partly amused, partly shocked.</p><p>“I know,” Jaemin agrees. “Don’t change the topic.”</p><p>Mark slumps onto the table, the fight whooshed out of him like air out of a deflated balloon. “Okay, but—but why would Donghyuck—you saw him today,” Mark sputters. “How am I supposed to do this?”</p><p>“You’ll figure it out, Mark,” Jaemin commiserates with him. Pats his shoulder kindly. “Tell you what, you do this favour for me, and I’ll owe you one.”</p><p>Mark’s eyes gleam at the prospect of having Na Jaemin owe him one. “Anything?” he asks. “You’ll do anything I ask you to do?” Mark is excited. He’s never had slippery-eel Jaemin backed into a corner at his mercy. The things he can make Jaemin do; make him pay for all the hell he has put his best friend through.</p><p>“Yes, yes,” Jaemin dismisses him with a wave of his hand. “We can discuss those details later. So you agree? You’ll help me?”</p><p>“Sure,” Mark says airily. “I’ll try.” Jaemin beams and jumps up to hug Mark, accidentally knocking over the teacup. It falls onto the floor and shatters.</p><p>“I think we should leave,” Mark murmurs. “We should,” Jaemin agrees. They bolt before they can be chased out of and banned from the cafe.</p><p><em> Tomorrow</em>, Mark thinks. <em> Donghyuck won’t know what hit him.  </em></p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“You do this for me, and I promise I won’t let Haechan kill you,” Jaemin states, sounding absolutely serious.</p><p>“As if you’d be able to stop him,” Mark mutters to himself. To Jaemin, he says, “Alright, whatever. I already said yes, I can’t back out now.”</p><p>“Great!” Jaemin chirps. “The fate of my date with Jeno lies in your hands now, Captain!”</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Mark startles awake to the sound of the loud, annoying ringtone Jaemin has set for himself on Mark’s phone—and promptly hits his head against the wall in his haste to sit up and accept the call. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whuh,” he mumbles, irritated, massaging his scalp. Wishing his head was actually as flat as his elder brother, Johnny, joked it was; maybe it’d hurt less.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Rise and shine, sunshine!” Jaemin chirps, voice too high and sing-songy, way too chipper for—Mark pulls his phone away from his ear to blearily squinting at the too-bright screen to check the time—whatever ungodly hour it is; Mark is too sleepy and myopic to bother with putting in any more effort.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The sun isn’t even shining yet, bitch,” Mark barks, and promptly cuts the call, and throws himself face-forward into the bed. No more hitting walls when Jaemin ultimately calls him again. And he does. Within 10 minutes. But despite anticipating the call, Mark’s poor sleep-addled brain is startled yet again when his phone rings just as he was drifting away into a deep, dreamless sleep. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Madly scrambling around his bed for his phone to shut off the infernal racket only lands Mark in the pits of hell—on to the cold, hard floor. Pissed—but not really because this is his best friend, Nana—Mark accepts the call with a yawn.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The sun is shining now!” Jaemin answers cheerily.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck you,” Mark grumbles.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ohoho, it didn’t end well the first and only time we tried, friend.” Mark can hear the triumph of having baited Mark in Jaemin’s voice. “Plus, my heart, ass, and dick belong to Jeno, now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Disgusting, I’ll kill you,” Mark sighs. “Or better yet, I’ll kill myself so I don’t ever have to listen to this bullshit at the asscrack of dawn.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now, now, I’m sure Haechan would love to have the honour.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mark, lying spread-eagled on the floor, despite the coldness and hardness of it, too lazy to move, sits up straight at the mention of the—handsome, his clearly-still-sleepy brain supplies unhelpfully—devil’s name.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck,” Mark breathes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anyway, I just called you to remind you about hanging out with Haechan after class because I am going to ask Jeno out for Gong Cha this evening,” Jaemin is saying, except Mark is not listening, his brain looping the imagery of Lee Donghyuck gleefully stabbing Mark over and over and over, Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho-style, iconic background music and all. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck, Nana. I can’t do this! He’ll kill me!” Mark exclaims, his body involuntarily shuddering.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nooo, he won’t,” Jaemin whines. “Mark, please, you have to help me!” So much for their more-than-a-decade-long friendship.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So much for our more-than-a-decade-long friendship,” Mark scoffs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You do this for me, and I promise I won’t let Haechan kill you,” Jaemin states, sounding absolutely serious.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“As if you’d be able to stop him,” Mark mutters to himself. To Jaemin, he says, “Alright, whatever. I already said yes, I can’t back out now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Great!” Jaemin chirps. “The fate of my date with Jeno lies in your hands now, Captain!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, listen, so—” Mark sputters, but Jaemin has already cut the call after uttering that horrifying string of words. So he’s just supposed to ambush Hae—Donghyuck—in class and risk facing his wrath? Fuck Jaemin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mark’s phone buzzes once, lighting up with a text from Nana, as if he knew Mark was cursing him. It says: </span>
 <tt> <em>
    <span>thank you!!! love you!!! i’ll owe you one!!! xoxo</span>
  </em> </tt>
</p><p>
  <span>Mark sighs. Time to face the writing on the wall.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>As he power-walks to the lecture hall, Mark curses his past self for choosing Creative Writing as his elective despite knowing it was an 8 a.m. class that semester. He regrets every single decision he has made in life that led him here—on the precipice of doom—especially befriending Na Jaemin. In fact, he regrets being born. None of his problems would exist if </span>
  <em>
    <span>he</span>
  </em>
  <span> didn’t. Mark thinks it might have been nicer to have died as an unfertilized sperm. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He stops short at the door. Peeks inside. Donghyuck is nowhere to be seen. Mark nearly sighs in relief before he catches himself and quietly slips inside the room. Might as well make himself comfortable and mentally prepare himself for the typhoon-in-human-form that is Donghyuck. He seats himself in the front because he knows nobody else willingly will, and because he enjoys Professor Kim’s teaching.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mark spends ten minutes trying and failing to come up with any good conversation openers, or even excuses to talk to Donghyuck, let alone schemes on how to get him alone and keep him distracted long enough for Jaemin’s Gong Cha date with Jeno. Then, triumphantly, he figures Jeno would turn Jaemin down anyway, so Mark wouldn’t need to mess with Donghyuck in the first place, and—</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mark’s phone buzzes in his pocket. He pulls it out to see a text from Jaemin that says: </span>
  <tt><em>
    <span>JENO SAID YES OMGKWKEGRKE GONG CHA IS ON FUCK YESSDHJSJ</span>
  </em> </tt>
</p><p>
  <span>Defeated, Mark channels his frustration into sarcasm and texts Jaemin: </span>
   <tt><em>
    <span>shout it from the rooftop, will you?</span>
  </em> </tt>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaemin, true to his nature, replies an unfazed: </span>
 <tt>  <em>
    <span>I WILL!!!! </span>
  </em> </tt>
</p><p>
  <span>Mark sighs. Jaemin is incorrigible but he's a good person and deserves to enjoy what he has earned. Plus, he's Mark's best friend and Mark loves him. So he texts Jaemin: </span>
 <tt>  <em>
    <span>happy for you, man. enjoy your date!</span>
  </em> </tt>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaemin's reply is instant: </span>
 <tt>  <em>
    <span>GOOD LUCK WITH HAECHAN!!!!! GO FORTH AND CONQUER, CAPTAIN!!!!!</span>
  </em> </tt>
</p><p>
  <span>Mark puts his phone on silent and shoves it back in his pocket. Professor Kim walks in with quick and decisive steps as always, and it is then that Mark realizes that all the students are seated—all except Donghyuck. While Professor Kim sets up his laptop, Mark wonders whether Jaemin's information was wrong and Donghyuck wasn't actually joining the class.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Is everyone here? I have—" Professor Kim begins and is cut off with the door slamming open and Donghyuck waltzing in. All eyes are on him and he smiles cockily at them all. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Late on your first day, Donghyuck," Professor Kim observes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Fuck it up, Doie!" Donghyuck grins as he seats himself in the front, beside a scandalized Mark. A hush has fallen over the hall—nobody has ever spoken to Professor Kim Dongyoung disrespectfully.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Professor Kim only pushes his glasses up his nose and assesses Donghyuck coolly. "That's Professor Kim to you, Donghyuck. And tardiness will not be tolerated here."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Noted, Professor Kim," Donghyuck states. Mark gapes at his audacity and his mouth falls further open when he sees that instead of flying into a rage, Professor Kim only has a small, amused smile on his face. A faint buzzing picks up immediately as everyone discusses the miracle that is the strict Professor Kim smiling at the antics of a known delinquent like Donghyuck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, quiet down, everyone. Donghyuck has had his five minutes of fame,” Professor Kim states. “High time we got back to—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>For the first—and hopefully, the only—time, Mark tunes Professor Kim out. His mind gets too busy running at the speed of light until he reigns it in and forces his Basketball Captain side to take over—even Donghyuck can be conquered with a strategy. Once he comes up with a strategy to not only approach Donghyuck but also force him to spend time with him, it’s over for Donghyuck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Unfortunately, Donghyuck isn’t in on that plan.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Mark Lee," Donghyuck calls out to him softly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Huh?" Mark asks, dazed. Donghyuck disturbing him in the midst of his scheming was unprecedented, but then again, he knows what they say about him: the only thing predictable about Haechan is how unpredictable he is.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"How did you and Na Jaemin become friends?" Donghyuck asks innocently, eyes round and wide. He looks so boyish and </span>
  <em>
    <span>adorable</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Mark falls further into his daze.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"We, uh—he was the first friend I made when I moved here from Canada, um, back in middle school,” Mark stumbles over his words.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fascinating,” Donghyuck drawls. “And here I thought you two bonded over being creeps.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What!” Mark sputters, loud and surprised.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mr. Lee, while I appreciate your enthusiasm, none of what I have said so far deserves this passionate a reaction,” Professor Kim cuts in, gaze steely-eyed and fixed on Mark. Mark squirms in his seat, wishing he could melt through the floor and disappear for good. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As soon as Professor Kim turns his back, Mark turns towards Donghyuck who is busy looking like he is absolutely hooked on to what Professor Kim is talking about.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Donghyuck,” Mark whispers. He gets no answer. So he tries again. “Donghyuck, what did you mean!” he hisses.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This time, Donghyuck shoots him a look that makes him feel like an insect about to be crushed under Donghyuck’s foot. “That’s quite a shit memory for someone who’s supposed to be the Golden Boy of the University,” Donghyuck snipes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I—” Mark starts, but his instincts tell him to shut up, so he does.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good,” Donghyuck smiles. “Now, I’ll tell you this for the last time: you shall call me Haechan, and nothing else—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, ‘nothing else’,” Mark jokes, feebly, his mouth running away from him before his brain can catch up. As Donghyuck narrows his eyes at Mark, Mark’s eyes immediately widen in horror. “I’m sorry!” he whispers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“—and stop being a creep,” Donghyuck states flatly. Mark knows Donghyuck is itching for a milkshake, this time to dump all over Mark’s head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But I didn’t—” he starts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mark Lee, stop fucking staring at me, or I shall end you,” Donghyuck grits out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Mark gets it now. And he feels bad. He doesn’t try to talk to Donghyuck again, letting him stew in his anger, hoping he’ll cool down by the end of the class. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>An agonizing 30 minutes later, where Mark was literally counting down the seconds, Professor Kim shuts his laptop and dismisses the class. Donghyuck immediately makes to stand up but Mark grabs his hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do—” he begins, but Donghyuck pulls his hand out of Mark’s grasp and glares at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Haechan,” Mark amends. “I’m sorry, I really am. Please let me make it up to you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” Donghyuck states and gets up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Haechan, please, I really want to apologize,” Mark adds, feeling desperate enough to beg. “I’ll buy you a milkshake, for—for yesterday, and even today. You can even dump it on my head this time if you like, or—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck ignores him and walks to the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mark, Donghyuck, a word please,” Professor Kim says, and that’s when Mark realizes that everyone else has already stepped out of the hall. Donghyuck pauses at the doorway, and shoots Mark a look, before walking up to Professor Kim. Mark joins him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I had a suggestion. And by that I mean it’s the recommended course of action,” Professor Kim says. It makes Donghyuck smile. It’s a genuine smile, Mark notes. Not one of Donghyuck’s trademark smirks and snarky smiles. He looks—</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You should have Mark take you through the material that you’ve missed,” Professor Kim tells Donghyuck, and Mark watches Donghyuck’s face fall. “Doie, no,” Donghyuck states. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Donghyuck, it’s only been two weeks, but we have covered a lot. Believe me, I wouldn’t suggest this unless I thought it was beneficial to you,” Professor Kim says. He sounds so soft, so caring. Mark by no means had taken Professor Kim to be a cold-hearted bitch, but seeing him speaking to Donghyuck like a parent would to their child—Mark wonders what their relationship is.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Donghyuck doesn’t immediately reply, a sullen tilt to his mouth, Professor Kim turns to Mark. “Mark, would you be okay with this? Would it be too much for you to take on?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, oh no! I’d like to help,” Mark exclaims. Donghyuck shoots him a withering look. “If—if Haechan would like me to, that is…” he trails off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He would,” Professor Kim answers for Donghyuck. “I’d like to speak with Donghyuck alone, now. Thank you, Mark.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mark nods and smiles a tentative smile at them both, and steps out, the image of Donghyuck’s ready-to-protest face burned in his mind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Outside, Mark stands around, unsure about what to do. Should he leave for his next class which doesn’t start for the next 10 minutes, or does he wait for Donghyuck, or—</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His phone buzzes in his pocket. He sighs and pulls it out, knowing it’s a text from Nana. And it is: </span>
  <tt> <em>
    <span>how’d it gooooooo</span>
  </em> </tt>
</p><p>
  <span>Mark mentally goes over the options he can text Jaemin: </span>
 <tt>  <em>
    <span>donghyuck hates me</span>
  </em> </tt>
  <span> or </span>
 <tt>  <em>
    <span>forget about jeno</span>
  </em> </tt>
  <span> or </span>
 <tt>  <em>
    <span>fuck my life, nana</span>
  </em> </tt>
  <span> or perhaps, all three. His thumbs hover over the screen, while his brain buffers, unsure about what to say to his best friend.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mark Lee,” Donghyuck states in Mark's ear. Mark nearly jumps out of his skin. He hadn’t noticed Donghyuck walking up and standing so close to him. Mark clutches at his chest, trying to get his frantic heartbeat back under control. Donghyuck rolls his eyes at him. “Drama Queen,” he mutters under his breath.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Meet me at the library at 4,” Donghyuck states. “We study for an hour, and then you treat me to a milkshake.” He turns and flounces off without waiting for Mark to reply. Mark watches him leave, a smile growing on his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looks at his phone in hand, Jaemin's text awaiting a reply. He texts back: </span>
 <tt>  <em>
    <span>success.</span>
  </em> </tt>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I didn't forget about this fic. I was simply waiting for a burst of inspiration. Legit.</p><p>Let me know what you think!</p><p>My <a href="https://mobile.twitter.com/gummieistrying">twt</a>; my <a href="https://curiouscat.qa/gummieistrying">cc</a>. Come talk to me!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi, hi. I just— ?<br/>I don't know how long this will balloon up to be, and how frequent updates would be. But there will be updates.<br/>Let me know what you think! Don't be shy. </p><p>My <a href="https://mobile.twitter.com/gummieistrying">twt</a>; my <a href="https://curiouscat.qa/gummieistrying">cc</a>. Come talk to me!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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